Wireless communications system and method of operation for reducing fraud

ABSTRACT

A wireless communications system and method of operating the same for reducing fraud, the system including a home carrier for providing wireless services to a subscriber within a predetermined area, and an HLR memory associated with the home carrier for storing home locator records for each subscriber. The home locator record defines the level of service to be provided to the subscriber, and is initially configured to prohibit call termination when the subscriber is outside of the home carrier area. Fraud is reduced in the system by initially prohibiting call termination through the HLR record, and then only permitting call termination if the subscriber has paid in advance for wireless services. If so, then the system temporarily reconfigures the HLR record to permit call termination. When the call ends or the pre-paid amount is depleted, the system resets the HLR to again prohibit call termination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of wireless communications and, in particular, the use ofcellular telephony as a means of personal communication is perceived bymany as having experienced substantial, if not exponential growth inrecent years. While growth and expansion in the use of cellulartelephony for personal communication has been phenomenal in manyrespects, there still exists significant obstacles for expansion of itsuse to a large segment of the general population.

As in many emerging industries, the cellular telephony industry has beenplagued and victimized by the relatively small segment of the publicintent on defrauding the service providers or carriers. This relativelysmall segment of the public has found a variety of means forcircumventing these existing safeguards. It is estimated that fraud bythese "consumers" costs the cellular industry more than three milliondollars per day.

As a result of the rampant growth of fraud in the cellular industry,carriers have been forced to adopt various techniques designed to reducethe opportunities for defrauding the carrier. An obvious method is tolimit system access solely to those subscribers deemed highlycreditworthy and to maintain listings of those former subscribers whohave, in the past, defrauded the carriers. The primary problem with thisapproach is that it excludes the significantly larger segment of thegeneral population comprised of otherwise trustworthy individualsdesiring cellular services who fall short of the highly creditworthystandard. As a result, this approach severely restricts the potentialopportunities for growth at a time when further growth is both desired,if not essential, to the expansion of the cellular telephony industry.

Efforts to reduce the relative exposure of the carrier in monetary termsto these unscrupulous practices have also been hindered by the veritableplethora of features and options now available to users of various formsof wireless communication including cellular telephony. Perhaps the mostdesired feature for the cellular subscriber is the ability to "roam" inareas which are not serviced by the home carrier. These features andoptions are virtually demanded by the consumer, but the liabilityassociated with the utilization of these features are borne, at leastinitially, by the home carrier. The home carrier does not, however,retain control over the extent of the use of these features and optionsin all potential markets since access to a service and feature may beauthorized in areas serviced by other carriers without the real timeknowledge of the home carrier.

The inability to selectively control access to the various featuresavailable to users of wireless communication stems from the fundamentalnature of the wireless communications industry and the basic fact thatit relies on a network of different carriers in order to provide serviceof any meaningful geographic scope. Before providing local connectivityto a visiting cellular subscriber, a "remote" or serving carrier firstverifies the creditworthiness of the subscriber or, more aptly, verifiesthat the home carrier accepts financial responsibility for any feesincurred by its subscriber. In this regard, each cellular subscriber isidentified by a combination of a discrete Mobile Identification Number(MIN) and a specific Electronic Serial Number (ESN) which are passedfrom the "remote" cellular carrier to the subscriber's home carrier byexisting IS-41 (Rev. A) messaging protocols in response to a request forservice by a subscriber roaming within the service area of the remotecarrier. Based upon the MIN/ESN, the home carrier electronicallyverifies whether the cellular subscriber may have access to therequested services.

In particular, the home carrier maintains a Home Locator Record (HLR)associated with each subscriber which provides data relating to theparticular subscriber, including data identifying those features andoptions available to the subscriber. In conventional cellular systems,the Home Locator Record is typically configured, in advance, by anoperator and cannot be altered by the carrier during the verificationprocess. Thereafter, upon request for wireless communications serviceinvolving a subscriber of the home carrier within the service area of a"remote" serving carrier, the home carrier transmits the subscriber'sHome Locator Record to the serving carrier to create the subscriber'sVisitor Locator Record (VLR) which defines the type and level of serviceto be provided to the roaming subscriber.

One method for reducing the exposure of a carrier to fraud would be toprovide local, prepaid wireless communications services. In accordancewith this approach, a carrier may integrate existing systems utilizedfor billing purposes, for example, to monitor the actual time used bythe cellular subscriber and, when the subscriber is approaching theprepaid limit, correspondingly restrict and/or terminate service,thereby limiting the carrier's relative exposure. The problem with thisapproach, however, is that the prepaid services must generally belimited to the geographic area served by the home carrier such that thecellular subscriber is not allowed to roam since the extent of usageoutside of the home carrier's service area cannot be monitored orrestricted.

While a wireless communications system can control call origination bypopulating the "HOTLINE" field of the subscriber's Visitor LocatorRecord (VLR) with the telephone number of a switching platform which, inturn, determines if the subscriber has paid in advance for the cellularservice, the problems associated with call termination with a prepaidsubscriber have not been addressed. In this regard, the problemsassociated with call termination with a prepaid subscriber areexacerbated in comparison to call origination because an incoming callfor the subscriber may be placed directly to the roaming access port ofthe "remote" serving carrier.

There is, therefore, an existing need in the wireless communicationsindustry and, in particular, in the cellular telephony industry for awireless communications system and an associated method of operationwhich permits a carrier to limit its exposure to potential consumerfraud, while allowing subscribers to have access to the full range offeatures and options, including roaming and, more particularly, calltermination with the subscriber while the subscriber is roaming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing shortcomings in existing wireless communications systemsare overcome in accordance with the present invention by temporarilyreconfiguring the information maintained in the subscriber's (otherwisepermanent) Home Locator Record on a real-time basis in order toselectively permit call termination while the subscriber is roaming inforeign markets, i.e., service areas other then the home carrier'sservice area. However, the subscriber's Home Locator Record is onlyreconfigured in response to a request for wireless communicationsservice if the subscriber has paid in advance for the requested service,such as roaming, and wishes to receive a call. During the course of acall, the amount of remaining prepaid services is monitored and theservice is ended once the prepaid amount has been exhausted. Uponcompletion of the requested service, the subscriber's Home LocatorRecord is reset to again prohibit call termination, thereby furtherprotecting the home carrier from fraud. For example, the home carrier isprotected from subsequent attempts to contact a roaming subscriber viathe roaming access port of the serving carrier since call termination isnot allowed absent reconfiguring of the subscriber's Home LocatorRecord.

The wireless communications system of the present invention includes ahome carrier and HLR memory means, associated with the home carrier, forstoring a Home Locator Record database. The Home Locator Record databaseincludes a number of Home Locator Records defining the service to beprovided the subscribers of the home carrier. The Home Locator Record isat least initially configured to allow only hotline call origination andto prohibit call termination with the respective subscriber.

The wireless communications system also includes reconfiguring means fortemporarily reconfiguring the Home Locator Record of a respectivesubscriber in response to a request for communications service involvingthe subscriber receiving an incoming call. For example, the request canbe a request for call termination with a subscriber who has roamedoutside of the service area of the home carrier. In response to thisrequest, the reconfiguring means reconfigures the Home Locator Record ofthe respective subscriber to permit call termination if the subscriberhas paid in advance for the requested service.

In response to requests for wireless communications service involving asubscriber of the home carrier who has roamed outside of the servicearea of the home carrier, the wireless communications system and methodinitially determines if the subscriber has paid in advance for therequested service. In this regard, the wireless communications systemscan include account memory means for storing account information for thesubscribers of the home carrier. This account information can includeinformation relating to the particular services, such as long distanceand roaming, which have been paid in advance by respective ones of thesubscribers. Upon determining that the subscriber has adequate funds inits account for the requested service and a call is waiting to bedelivered to the subscriber, the reconfiguring means at leasttemporarily reconfigures the Home Locator Record of the respectivesubscriber to permit call termination. The wireless communicationssystem and method then provides the reconfigured Home Locator Record ofthe respective subscriber to a serving carrier (typically via IS-41(Rev. A) messaging) which, in turn, provides the requested wirelesscommunications service.

During the provision of the requested service by the serving carrier,the wireless communications system and method monitors the accountmemory means and ends the requested service once the account informationfor the respective subscriber indicates that the services which had beenpaid in advance by the subscriber have been exhausted. Once therequested service has been ended, either upon completion of the call orexhaustion of the prepaid services, the reconfiguring means resets theHome Locator Record of the respective subscriber such that the HomeLocator Record again prohibits call termination with the subscriber. Asa result, the wireless communications system is further protected fromfraud since calls to the roaming subscriber via the roaming access portof the serving carrier will not be connected since the Home LocatorRecord of the respective subscriber has been reset to again prohibitcall termination with the subscriber.

In this manner, a particular subscriber may have access on a discretetransaction-by-transaction basis to features of the wirelesscommunications system which are considered generally desirable, such ascall termination with a roaming subscriber. Meanwhile, the home carriermay substantially limit its relative exposure to the illicit practicesof the relatively small segment of the potential consuming market forwireless communications services. Accordingly, carriers can increase theuniverse of potential subscribers to include consumers who are slightlyless creditworthy since the relative exposure of the carrier is limitedaccording to the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention, andthe manner in which the same are accomplished, will become more readilyapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of theinvention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate preferred and exemplary embodiments, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the basic components ofa wireless communications system according to the present invention,including a home carrier having HLR memory means and account memorymeans associated therewith;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communicationsswitching platform according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the variouscommunications links within a wireless communications system accordingto another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the operations performed by awireless communications system and method according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodimentof the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, this embodiment is provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully conveythe scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbersrefer to like elements throughout.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a wireless communications system 10 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. While thiscommunications system will be primarily described hereinbelow inconjunction with a cellular telephony system, the wirelesscommunications system can include any cellular or digital communicationssystem, such as an AMPS cellular system, a digital cellular system or aPersonal Communications System, without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

The wireless communications system 10 typically includes a plurality ofcarriers 12 for providing wireless communications service withinrespective predetermined service areas. The carriers are generallyconnected with a communications network 14, such as an associated publicswitched telephone network which, in turn, is associated and incommunication with one or more terminals, such as the land linetelephone terminal 16 illustrated in FIG. 1. For a cellular telephonysystem, for example, a duplex communications link may be effectedbetween two cellular terminals, or between a cellular terminal and aland line telephone terminal.

Each carrier 12 provides wireless communications service to a number ofsubscribers within the predetermined service area of the carrier. Aparticular subscriber will therefore have a home carrier 12a with whichthe subscriber has contracted for wireless communications service, and anumber of "remote" carriers having different service areas which mayfunction as serving carriers 12b in instances in which the subscriber isroaming outside of the service area of the home carrier, but with theservice area of a respective serving carrier. For a cellularcommunications system, the service area of a cellular carrier is dividedinto a number of cells 18 designated Cell 1, Cell 2, . . . , Cell n inFIG. 1. In addition to the radio base stations and the associatedantennas within each respective cell, a carrier includes a mobiletelephone switching office (MTSO) 20 which serves as the centralcoordinating element for all cells and which typically includes aprocessor 22, such as a computer-based account processor, and atelephony switch 24. The MTSO also generally interfaces with thetelephone company zone offices, controls call processing and handlesbilling activities.

According to the present invention, the home carrier 12a is associatedwith both HLR memory means 26 and account memory means 28. The HLRmemory means and/or the account memory means may form a portion of thehome carrier's MTSO 20. Alternatively, the HLR memory means and/or theaccount memory means may be external to, but in communication with thehome carrier's MTSO as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The HLR memory means 26 typically includes a memory device for storing aHome Locator Record database. The Home Locator Record database includesa number of Home Locator Records defining the wireless communicationsservice to be provided to respective subscribers of the home carrier12a. For example, the Home Locator Record of a respective subscriberdefines the features and options which the subscriber has selected. Onefeature of the many features defined by a subscriber's Home LocatorRecord is call termination which indicates whether the subscriber isallowed to receive calls, including calls received while the subscriberroams outside of the predetermined service area of the home carrier.

The account memory means 28 also typically includes a memory device forstoring account information for each of the subscribers of the homecarrier 12a. According to the present invention, the subscribers can payin advance for selected wireless communications services. For example,subscribers can pay in advance for a full featured wirelesscommunications system 10 that controls all facets of wirelesscommunications regardless of the subscriber's location, i.e., at home orwhile roaming, in a manner which removing the liability of the homecarrier.

As shown in FIG. 2, the MTSO 20 of the home carrier 12a has beenspecifically developed as a switching platform for providing wirelesscommunications service to a number of subscribers, while protecting thehome carrier from fraud. As shown in FIG. 2, the switching platform ofthe present invention includes reconfiguring means 30 for at leasttemporarily reconfiguring the Home Locator Record of a respectivesubscriber in response to a request for wireless communications serviceinvolving the subscriber outside the predetermined service area of thehome carrier. For example, this request may be an incoming callrequesting call termination with the respective subscriber outside ofthe predetermined service area of the home carrier.

As explained below, the reconfiguring means 30 is responsive to theaccount memory means 28 so as to only reconfigure the Home LocatorRecord of the respective subscriber if the stored account informationindicates that the subscriber has paid an advance for the requestedwireless communications service. If the subscriber has paid an advancefor the requested wireless communications service, the reconfiguringmeans will temporarily reconfigure the Home Locator Record of therespective subscriber to permit the requested feature, i.e., calltermination, while the subscriber roams outside of the service area ofthe home carrier 12a. While the reconfiguring means will hereinafter bedescribed in conjunction with the reconfiguring of a Home Locator Recordto permit call termination, including call termination outside of thepredetermined service area of the home carrier, the reconfiguring meansmay reconfigure the Home Locator Record to selectively permit thesubscriber to temporarily utilize other features while the subscriberroams outside of the predetermined service area of the home carrier.

Upon completion of the requested wireless communications service, thereconfiguring means 30 resets the Home Locator Record of the respectivesubscriber to again prohibit the requested feature, such as to prohibitcall termination with the subscriber outside the predetermined servicearea of the home carrier 12a. As described below, the switching platform20 of the present invention therefore reduces, if not prevents, fraud byonly permitting call termination while roaming outside of thepredetermined service area of the home carrier in specific instances inwhich the subscriber has paid in advance.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the switching platform 20 can include monitormeans 32 for monitoring the account memory means 28 while the switchingplatform provides the requested wireless communications service. Ininstances in which a subscriber's Home Locator Record has beentemporarily reconfigured to permit call termination, the monitor meanscan continue to monitor the account information relating to the wirelesscommunications services which have been paid in advance by therespective subscriber while the subscriber roams outside of thepredetermined service area of the home carrier 12a. In this regard, oncethe subscriber begins to use the prepaid wireless communicationsservices, the account information for the respective subscriber ismodified, preferably in real time by the processor 22, in order toaccurately reflect the remaining prepaid services available for therespective subscriber.

The switching platform 20 also preferably includes call duration control34 for ending the requested wireless communications service. Once theaccount information indicates that all of the wireless communicationsservices which had been paid in advance by the respective subscriberhave been exhausted, the monitor means 22 notifies the call durationcontrol means. The call duration control means then ends the wirelesscommunications service, such as by disconnecting the subscriber'stelephone call.

As described above, the switching platform 20 also includes a switch 24,such as a telephony switch, and a processor 22, such as a computer-basedaccount processor. As shown in FIG. 2, the processor can include thereconfiguring means 30, the monitor means 32 and the call durationcontrol means 34. However, the reconfiguring means, the monitor meansand/or the call duration control means of one advantageous embodimentare embodied by a combination of hardware, such as the processor, andsoftware, such as a computer program product. The computer programproduct of this advantageous embodiment includes a computer-readablestorage medium having computer-readable program code means, such as aseries of computer instructions, embodied in the computer-readablestorage medium for selectively reconfiguring the Home Locator Records ofrespective ones of the subscribers, for monitoring the account memorymeans and/or for selectively ending the wireless communications serviceof respective ones of the subscribers.

In this regard, FIGS. 1-4 are block diagram, flow chart and control flowillustrations of methods, systems and program products according to theinvention. It will be understood that each block or step of the blockdiagram, flow chart and control flow illustrations, and combinations ofblocks in the block diagram, flow chart and control flow illustrations,can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computerprogram instructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which executeon the computer or other programmable apparatus create means forimplementing the functions specified in the block diagram, flow chart orcontrol flow block(s) or step(s). These computer program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct acomputer or other programmable apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the block diagram, flow chartor control flow block(s) or step(s). The computer program instructionsmay also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus tocause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer orother programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented processsuch that the instructions which execute on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functionsspecified in the block diagram, flow chart or control flow block(s) orstep(s).

Accordingly, blocks or steps of the block diagram, flow chart or controlflow illustrations support combinations of means for performing thespecified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specifiedfunctions and program instruction means for performing the specifiedfunctions. It will also be understood that each block or step of theblock diagram, flow chart or control flow illustrations, andcombinations of blocks or steps in the block diagram, flow chart orcontrol flow illustrations, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions orsteps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

The operations of the wireless communications system 10 of the presentinvention will now be described primarily in conjunction with the flowchart of FIG. 4. As shown in block 50, the wireless communicationssystem initially receives a request for wireless communications serviceinvolving the subscriber outside of the predetermined service area ofthe home carrier 12a of the subscriber. For example, the switchingplatform 20 of the present invention and, more particularly, the switch24 may receive a call for a subscriber who is presently in a regionserviced by another carrier, i.e., the serving carrier 12b. In oneembodiment, each subscriber of the wireless communications system of thepresent invention is assigned a unique telephone number, such as aunique toll-free number or a common toll-free number with a uniquepersonal identification number (PIN). Upon receiving a call to thetelephone number assigned to a respective subscriber, the switchingplatform initially identifies the mobile identification number (MIN) andElectronic Serial Number (ESN) of the subscriber based upon thesubscriber's unique toll-free number or the subscriber's unique PIN.

Thereafter, the switching platform 20 and, more particularly, themonitor means 32 determines if the subscriber has paid in advance forthe requested wireless communications service, such as for roaming or,more particularly, for call termination while the subscriber is roaming.See block 52. If the account information for the respective subscriberindicates that the subscriber has not paid for any services in advancewhich have not been previously used or exhausted, the switching platformprovides a message to the caller, such as "the cellular phone that youhave dialed is temporarily out of service", prior to disconnecting. Seeblock 54. If the subscriber has paid in advance for the requestedwireless communications service, however, the switching platformdetermines if the subscriber is currently on another call. See block 56.If so, the switching platform preferably transfers the incoming call tovoice-mail such that the caller can leave a message for the subscriberas shown in block 58.

If the subscriber has paid in advance for the requested wirelesscommunications service and the subscriber is not on another call, theswitching platform 20 and, more particularly, the reconfiguring means 30temporarily reconfigures the Home Locator Record of the respectivesubscriber to permit call termination such that the request for calltermination with the subscriber who is presently outside of the servicearea of the home carrier 12a can be accommodated, i.e., the call can becompleted. See block 60. Once the Home Locator Record of the respectivesubscriber has been reconfigured, the serving carrier 12b is petitionedfor a temporary local dial number (TLDN). See block 62. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the switching platform of the presentinvention may petition the serving carrier, such as via switch-to-switchcommunications (SS-7), for a TLDN. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.3, however, the HLR memory means 26 is one component of an HLR node 36which is adapted to communicate with both the switching platform, i.e.,the home MTSO, and the serving carrier, i.e., the serving MTSO. In thisembodiment, the home carrier can issue an intracarrier petition to theserving carrier, via the HLR node, for a TLDN once the Home LocatorRecord of the respective subscriber has been reconfigured.

In either embodiment and in response to the home carrier's request for aTLDN, the serving carrier 12b requests a Visitor Locator Record from thehome carrier 12a. As described above, a subscriber's Visitor LocatorRecord is based upon the current Home Locator Record of the respectivesubscriber. Accordingly, the wireless communications system 10 of thepresent invention reconfigures the Home Locator Record of the respectivesubscriber before sending the subscriber's current Visitor LocatorRecord to the serving carrier, either via the switching platform 20 orvia the HLR node 36, to thereby create or update the subscriber'sVisitor Locator Record which is maintained by the serving carrier. Seeblock 64. Since the reconfigured Home Locator Record now permits calltermination with the respective subscriber, the serving carrier thenprovides the switching platform with a TLDN. See block 66. For example,the serving carrier can provide the switching platform with a TLDN forthe respective subscriber via switch-to-switch communications as shownin FIG. 1 or via intracarrier signals, such as the HLR node, as shown inFIG. 3. Upon receipt of the TLDN, the switching platform and, moreparticularly, the switch 24 dials with TLDN to deliver the incomingcall. See block 68.

Following call delivery and during the period of time in which thesubscriber's phone remains off-hook, the account information within theaccount memory means 28 which relates to the respective subscriber ismodified to effectively decrease the amount of remaining wirelesscommunications services which have been prepaid by the subscriber andwhich remain to be provided to the subscriber. See block 70. Forexample, the processor 22 may repeatedly decrement the prepaid timeremaining for the respective subscriber as the subscriber's phoneremains off-hook.

As shown in block 78, the switching platform 20 also repeatedlydetermines if the subscriber has completed the telephone call, such asby placing the phone on-hook or by otherwise signing off. If theswitching platform determines that the telephone call has not beencompleted, the switching platform 20 and, more particularly, the monitormeans 32 continues to monitor the account information for the respectivesubscriber to determine if the subscriber has prepaid for and isentitled to additional wireless communications service. See block 72. Ifthe account information for the respective subscriber indicates that thesubscriber has exhausted all of their prepaid services, the monitormeans notifies the call duration control means 34 which, in turn, endsthe service, i.e., disconnects the telephone call. See block 80. If theaccount information for the respective subscriber indicates that thesubscriber is entitled to additional service, however, the monitor meansthen determines if the wireless communications services which have beenprepaid by the subscriber and which remain to be provided are small,such as less than ten minutes. See block 74. If so, the switchingplatform can announce the time remaining to the subscriber such that thesubscriber can plan to complete the telephone call within the remainingtime. See block 76. Otherwise, this monitoring process can continue asshown in FIG. 4.

If the call has ended, either by action of the respective subscriber orby the call duration control means 34 upon exhaustion of the prepaidservices, the switching platform 20 and, more particularly, thereconfiguring means 30 will reset the Home Locator Record of thesubscriber so as to prohibit call termination, prior to releasing thetelephone call. See blocks 82 and 84. By resetting the Home LocatorRecord of the subscriber to prohibit call termination, the wirelesscommunications system 10 of the present invention reduces, if notprevents fraud by not allowing unauthorized access to any subscriber. Inparticular, subsequent telephone calls to the roaming access port of theserving carrier 12b which request call termination with a roamingsubscriber of the home carrier 12a will not be completed since the HomeLocator Record of the respective subscriber which is provided to theserving carrier would again indicate that the subscriber is prohibitedfrom receiving calls. Accordingly, the wireless communications systemand method of the present invention permit call termination with aroaming subscriber on a limited, prepaid basis, while reducing, if notpreventing, fraud upon the home/serving carrier. As a result, carrierscan increase the universe of potential subscribers to include consumerswho are slightly less creditworthy since the relative exposure of thecarrier is limited according to the present invention.

In the drawings and the specification, there has been set forth apreferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms areemployed, the terms are used in a generic and descriptive sense only andnot for purpose of limitation, the scope of the invention being setforth in the following claims.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A wireless communications systemcomprising:a home carrier for providing wireless communications serviceto a subscriber within a predetermined service area; HLR memory means,associated with said home carrier, for storing a home locator recorddatabase comprising a plurality of home locator records at leastpartially defining the wireless communications service to be provided torespective ones of the subscribers of said home carrier, wherein thehome locator record is at least initially configured to prohibit calltermination with the respective subscriber; and reconfiguring means forat least temporarily reconfiguring the home locator record of arespective subscriber in response to a request for wirelesscommunications service involving the subscriber to permit calltermination with the subscriber if the subscriber has paid in advancefor the requested wireless communications service, wherein saidreconfiguring means resets the home locator record of the respectivesubscriber upon completion of the requested wireless communicationsservice such that the home locator record again prohibits calltermination with the subscriber.
 2. A wireless communications systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the request for wireless communicationsservice is a request for call termination with the respective subscriberoutside of the predetermined service area of said home carrier, andwherein said reconfiguring means at least temporarily reconfigures thehome locator record of the subscriber so as to permit call terminationwith the subscriber if the subscriber has paid in advance for wirelesscommunications service with said home carrier.
 3. A wirelesscommunications system according to claim 1 further comprising a servingcarrier for providing wireless communications service within apredetermined service area which is at least partially different thanthe predetermined service area of said home carrier, wherein saidserving carrier cooperates with said home carrier for providing therequested wireless communications service if said reconfiguring meanshas reconfigured the home locator record of the respective subscriber topermit call termination.
 4. A wireless communications system accordingto claim 1 further comprising account memory means, associated with saidhome carrier, for storing account information for the plurality ofsubscribers of said home carrier including account information relatingto the wireless communications services which have been paid in advanceby respective ones of the subscribers.
 5. A wireless communicationssystem according to claim 4 further comprising monitor means formonitoring said account memory means while said home carrier providesthe requested wireless communications service.
 6. A wirelesscommunications system according to claim 5 further comprising callduration control means for ending the requested wireless communicationsservice once the account information for the respective subscriberindicates that the wireless communications services which had been paidin advance by the subscriber have been exhausted.
 7. A wirelesscommunications switching platform for selectively providing wirelesscommunications service to a plurality of subscribers, wherein thewireless communications service to be provided to a respectivesubscriber is at least partially defined by a home locator record whichis at least initially configured to prohibit call termination with thesubscriber outside of a predetermined service area, and wherein thewireless communications switching platform comprises:account memorymeans for storing account information for the plurality of subscribers;and reconfiguring means, responsive to said account memory means, for atleast temporarily reconfiguring the home locator record of a respectivesubscriber in response to a request for wireless communications serviceinvolving the subscriber outside of the predetermined service area topermit call termination with the subscriber if the stored accountinformation indicates that the subscriber has paid in advance for therequested wireless communications service, wherein said reconfiguringmeans resets the home locator record of the respective subscriber uponcompletion of the requested wireless communications service such thatthe home locator record again prohibits call termination with thesubscriber outside of the predetermined service area.
 8. A wirelesscommunications switching platform according to claim 7 furthercomprising a switch for providing the requested wireless communicationsservice if the home locator record permits call termination with therespective subscriber.
 9. A wireless communications switching platformaccording to claim 7 wherein said account memory means includes accountinformation relating to the wireless communications services which havebeen paid in advance by respective ones of the subscribers.
 10. Awireless communications switching platform according to claim 9 furthercomprising monitor means for monitoring said account memory means whilethe wireless communications switching platform provides the requestedwireless communications service.
 11. A wireless communications switchingplatform according to claim 10 further comprising call duration controlmeans for terminating the requested wireless communications service oncethe account information for the respective subscriber indicates that thewireless communications services which had been paid in advance by thesubscriber have been exhausted.
 12. A method of selectively providingwireless communications service to a plurality of subscribers, whereinthe wireless communications service to be provided to a respectivesubscriber is at least partially defined by a home locator record whichis at least initially configured to prohibit call termination with thesubscriber, and wherein the method comprises the steps of:receiving arequest for wireless communications service including call terminationwith the subscriber outside a first predetermined service area;determining if the subscriber has paid in advance for the requestedwireless communications service; at least temporarily reconfiguring thehome locator record of the subscriber to permit call termination withthe subscriber if the subscriber has paid in advance for the requestedwireless communications service; providing the requested wirelesscommunications service if the home locator record is reconfigured topermit call termination with the subscriber; and resetting the homelocator record of the respective subscriber upon completion of therequested wireless communications service such that the home locatorrecord again prohibits call termination with the subscriber outside ofthe predetermined service area.
 13. A method according to claim 12wherein said providing step comprises providing the reconfigured homelocator record of the subscriber to a serving carrier which provides therequested wireless communications service, wherein the serving carrierprovides wireless communications service within a second predeterminedservice area which is at least partially different than the firstpredetermined service area.
 14. A method according to claim 12 furthercomprising repeatedly determining, during said providing step, if thesubscriber has paid in advance for a continuation of the providedwireless communications service.
 15. A method according to claim 14further comprising terminating the requested wireless communicationsservice upon determining that the wireless communications services whichhad been paid in advance by the subscriber have been exhausted.